PETpla.net Insider 12 / 2013

EDITOUR REPORTS 15 PET planet insider Vol. 14 No. 12/13 HSR SERIES HIGH SPEED ROTARY STRETCH- BLOW MOULDERS Faster. Smarter. Greener. Thanks to revolutionary technological innovations, Smiform’s new stretch-blow moulders of the HSR series are capable of producing up to 2,500 bottles/hour per cavity, saving up to 30% of energy vs. mainstream systems and cutting the costs of use and maintenance. STRETCH-BLOW MOULDING AND FILLING MACHINES I PACKAGING MACHINES I CONVEYOR SYSTEMS I PALLETISERS www.smigroup.it New HSR blow moulders: the technology that’s going to change the world of PET Touring the plant together I notice, alongside the many Husky HyPET-300 machines, a comparatively small blow moulding machine for bottles. Curious, I ask my inter- viewee what sort of a role this machine plays in-plant. “On this older machine we manufacture products in smaller batch sizes“. Fernando Moreira takes a washing up liquid bottle from the catch tank. He goes on to explain that, in the future, Cristalpet will need to adjust to manufacturing increasingly more individual products. The Production Manager illustrates further challenges that the preform manufacturer in Uruguay may encounter. Hitherto, government at a national level has only offered support to the industry to a limited extent over the last two periods in office, and there have been no subsidies on energy charges for compa- nies for example. This is the reason why Cristalpet is making an effort to maxim- ise energy efficiency in its production. As far as the company is concerned, this also represents an important aspect when it comes to the purchase of an average of two new machines a year. In this way, or so Fernando Moreira is hoping, Cristalpet will be able to safeguard its position as a market leader. On completion of the tour I ask the Production Man- ager for a couple of product samples for the PETplanet stand at Drinktec. When I leave the plant in Montevi- deo ten minutes later I am carrying so many preforms, bottles and caps in my hands that I could really do with an extra one to offer Mr Moreira as I take my leave of him. All these gifts – a token of genu- ine Uruguayan friendship. I wonder if this is why the PET expert likes it so much here? www.cristalpet.com.uy In order to satisfy the high level of demand, Cristalpet has installed a few additional Husky machines in an extension to the original production facility.